Bruce Arnold

Rhythms Volume One

Develop your knowledge of syncopation with Rhythms Volume One

Rhythms Volume One kicks it "up a notch" with syncopated rhythms. This simply means that there are more places where the rhythms are occurring not on the beat, but off the beat. Rhythms Volume One concentrates on eighth note rhythms so you get a lot more rhythms falling on the "and" of the beat. This will manifest itself with a lot more rests and ties found in the exercises. Rock and contemporary Pop music is highly syncopated so therefore developing an ability to play and comprehend these rhythms is crucial to playing these kinds of music.

Bruce Arnold advises that if you want to play Rock or pretty much any contemporary music style you need to know eighth note syncopation.

Here are a few examples of classic songs that use eighth note syncopation:

"Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles

"Go your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac

"Day Tripper" by The Beatles

"Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones

"Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin

"Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix

"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson

"Money" by Pink Floyd

And if you want to understand just about ANY modern music you need to know eighth note rhythms with syncopation.

Rhythms Volume One is the first in a unique series dedicated to rhythms and syncopations.

Rhythms Volume One takes you through 120 pages of syncopated rhythms. This book covers all possible syncopations within two measures of 4/4 so you are sure to cover all the rhythms you might run into in modern music.

Take each exercise and play it along with any of the previously mentioned songs.

It's highly recommended that in addition to playing the exercises with the downloadable midifiles, you also directly apply the exercises to any tune that has eighth notes as its basic pulse. That would be most of rock and jazz so there are a huge number of compositions you could choose from.

How important is rhythm in your playing?

Rhythm is the backbone of everything you play. Too many musicians overlook this aspect of their playing. Ask yourself these questions:

Do I feel my rhythm is weak when playing chords or trying to groove with other musicians?

When I have to read music are many of the mistakes I make related to rhythm?

Do I have a tendency to speed up or slow down when I play or read music?

Do I lack rhythmic diversity when I'm soloing or writing music?

When I'm transcribing music do I find it hard to figure out the rhythms?

If someone shows me a rhythm do I have a hard time duplicating it?

Is it hard for me to translate the rhythms I hear into rhythm notation?

Do I have a hard time getting a musical flow happening when I'm playing or improvising?

Do I know in a general way what rhythm level is being played when I'm listening to or playing music?

All of these problems can be symptoms of poor rhythmic skills. This can cause you not to perform well, get lost when playing music and not be connected on a gut level to the music you are listening to or playing. Working on your rhythm will help you to:

Improve Accuracy.

Develop a larger vocabulary of rhythms so that your aren't always playing the same few rhythms over and over.

Naturally hear a variety of rhythms when you are composing.

Write out the rhythms if you are a composer wishing to publish your music.

Develop a better interaction with your band members because you are able to react to their rhythmic phrasing.

Find the rhythms that cause you problems so that you can practice and master them before they spring up in a band rehearsal or other pubic arena.

Don't forget Pitch and Rhythm are the two crucial aspects of modern music:

People pick up on rhythmic inaccuracies very quickly. It is especially important to have good rhythmic skills with eighth notes because it is so prevalent in modern music. Just a few minutes a day can solve this problem and give you the confidence that you can perform well.

Rhythms Volume One requires an ability to read and understand eighth note rhythms that are highly syncopated with ties and rests.

If you are just getting started with rhythm get the Rhythm Primer first but if you know how to read rhythms and just want to hone your skills then Rhythms Volume One is perfect for you. It will give you:

120 pages of exercises.

Exercises using just one pitch so you can really concentrate of learning the rhythms

Downloadable free audio examples of each exercise in the form of midifiles. Midifiles allow you to control the tempo of the exercise making it a perfect kind of file to use with these exercises.

Develop your rhythmic skills in a logical way.

Rhythm is commonly organized on four metric levels. It is imperative that you know these levels and the rhythms that are commonly played. Rhythms Volume One concentrates on eighth note rhythms. By concentrating on one rhythmic level at a time you can master each rhythmic level and then in later books apply these skills to multi-rhythmic level exercises.

Remember rhythmic accuracy is the key to connecting with your audience physically, getting them up and dancing and being totally responsive to your music.

Our bodies respond to rhythmic accuracy and feel uncomfortable when it's not there. Rhythms Volume One and the whole Rhythm series develops this accuracy through targeted exercises. Just a few minutes a day can develop these skills so don't put it off. Add a 10 minute exercise each day and have people moving to your music in no time.

I'm currently an undergrad majoring in performance. Rhythms Volume One and Rhythms Volume Two T. Young

I'm a drummer and always looking for new material to read through. So far I've worked through the Rhythm PrimerRhythms Volume One,Rhythms Volume Two and Odd Meters The exercises are a great workout and get to professional level material and I strongly recommend them as a source for additional reading material. T. Godal

I'm 53 and play in a rock band on the weekends. Most of the time we just rehearse but occasionally we get a gig. I've struggled with rhythm all my life and finally contacted Bruce about my problem. I sent him an MP3 of my playing and he told me that the way I think about rhythm is on too small of a grouping. In other words I was thinking every beat when I play. Bruce pointed on that I needed to think in larger units of time and recommended I work with Rhythm Primer and Rhythms Volume One. He gave me a list of ways to tap each exercise and had me play them along with some of the cover tunes we do using his larger tapping concept. This really changed things for the better, and my band mates have really noticed a change. Thanks Bruce I thought I was doomed to poor rhythm but it was just the way I was thinking about it! H. Thomson

What I love about Muse Eek's books is how through the creative ideas that Mr. Arnold teaches, you can use a rhythm book for ear training. That really is something I would have never thought of. I use the rhythm books with the MetroDrone files to work from my Ear Training: One Note Complete book along with my rhythm practice. Basically I put on a MetroDrone file and play through each exercise using one note. I've been concentrating on the sharp 5 lately because I'm really weak at it. I've already used it for flat 2 and sharp 4 and I've made real progress. Highly recommend these books!. P. Wessel.

Get started with Rhythm Volume One today and start expressing those rhythms that beat in your heart!